WSU selected to be location for first presidential debate of 2016

The Office of Communications announced in an email today at 1:10 p.m. that Wright State University has been selected by The Commission of Presidential Debates (CPD) to host the first debate before the 2016 election. The debate will be held at the Nutter Center on September 26, 2016.

In order to be selected to host any of the presidential debates, the venue must apply to the CPD and undergo the application process. WSU began this process a year and a half ago.

“We formed an internal team [who] were working to see how we could put an application together to really be competitive, because, up until this year, very few public universities have been chosen. We wanted to change that,” President David Hopkins said. “We think that the future of our country depends on producing great educated people from these public universities with a desire to be public servants. What’s a better way to showcase to our students the importance of being a civic minded person than to host a presidential debate?”

According to Hopkins, the students have been one of the primary factors that influenced the planning process.

“The thing I’m really excited about is what this will mean to our students,” Hopkins said. “One of the things as we talked about [as a committee] is that we would make sure our students are at the front and center of what we do, starting from right now.”

Not only will students have an opportunity to witness the debate live, but they will also have opportunities to interact with it beyond attendance.

“I want students to know that from this announcement to find ways to engage and to be a part of this wonderful process of democracy,” Hopkins said. “We will be working with the Student Government Association to see how they want to embed this engagement, but there will be a chance for students who want to be engaged in this process, to be engaged.”

Hopkins believes this engagement could provide real-world experience for students and teach important lessons on political involvement.

“The faculty [could] make this a good civic lesson for the wonderful students we have of from all backgrounds on the importance of voting and the importance of understanding social issues. We want to make sure our students are involved in the planning and activities,” Hopkins said. “I think it’s a great learning experience. I think that whatever their major might be, this is an applied situation.”

Hopkins stated that WSU is a nationally recognized university, and this selection is bound to bring more recognition.

“I hope it brings great pride about their alma mater and the institution that they’re enrolled in,” Hopkins said. “There is only one institution which was chosen in the whole country to be the first presidential debate for 2016, and if that doesn’t swell up your pride and make you puff your chest out, then you’re not a raider. If you’re a raider, you’re standing up tall today.”

This afternoon at 4:10 p.m. WSU was trending worldwide on social media regarding the CPD announcement.